Blind Archer
by Pakster123
Summary: What happens when Artemis loses her eyesight...? Disclaimer: YJ property not mine Please comment
1. Blind

"What have you done to me?" Artemis cried as she covered her eyes. "You. are. useless. You are now blind…forever," He smirked.

Her tears rolled down her face as she desperately tried to feel her way around. Now that she couldn't see, she didn't know where she was, her only bet was telepathy. She managed to contact M'Gann and told her where she last remembered to avoid anyone finding out. However, M'Gann was able to read the other part of her mind that she tried to conceal.

"Artemis….can you not see?" M'Gann asked mentally. "You can't tell….not yet….just pretend I can't find my way around because I hurt my leg or something…ok?" Artemis growled telepathically.

"But…."M'Gann said until she was cut off by a fierce no. She immediately flew to the location Artemis was and lifted her up by the shoulder. They flew in the air as M'Gann navigated the forest for the others. Artemis felt light on her feet but couldn't witness the sky or the forest. As they were getting closer and closer to the forest, all the others already met up and were waiting for the two to arrive.

Kid Flash complained, "What took you so long to find your way here? Are you blind or something?"

"Sorry guys, I hurt my leg so I couldn't find my way," Artemis said with an unusual blank look. Robin's mask reached the corners of his face with suspicion however decided to figure it out secretly.

Kaldur ordered her to get into the ship and to lie down temporarily. "Feel better," he said. Artemis forced a smile and with a fake tough voice she said, "Thanks."

M'Gann held Artemis' hand and whispered, "It's going to be alright, but you have to tell the others."

Artemis was facing the wrong way and said, "You open that dirty mouth of yours, I'm going to kill you, you hear me?"

M'Gann knew she didn't mean it but she sighed. It wasn't her right to tell them, but at this rate Artemis can feel the burden and wouldn't be able to handle this alone…

While the other guys were busy discussing the next plan, Robin was listening to the girls' conversation with such slyness that nobody noticed. He heard bits of the word blind and truth, but that was enough for him. Horror covered him as he realized how the truth and blindness correlated with each other. Artemis is blind and she doesn't want anyone to know. He pondered on what to do, whether he should report to Batman or Kaldur or anyone at all. He glanced at Artemis, who seemed normal, but was feeling ultimate pain and confusion inside.

Once the ship landed at the Cave, Robin offered to help hold Artemis. He picked her up on his back no matter how much Artemis refused. Artemis struggled to get out, but she knew she couldn't as long as she couldn't see.

"I could walk by myself," Artemis protested. Robin rolled his eyes under his mask and said, "We both know you can't."

As soon as they reached the door, Robin put her down and wanted to see whether she could realize it was there and open it.

Artemis searched for a doorknob or something. Frustrated, she kept on searching only to realize that there was no doorknob. The only doors to the cave are zeta tubes.

"Robin, is this some sick joke?" Artemis asked at the ceiling. "Artemis, that's what I should be asking you. You can't even see me and yet you try to act all tough and fine. How long do you plan to hide this. You know you can't for a long time," Robin said sadly.

"I know, but I just have to try…" Artemis cried.


	2. Lost

Robin gave Artemis a ride home on his R cycle and dropped her off. He knew she didn't live in Star City but in Gotham.

"Ah…Robin, where are we?" asked Artemis. "Star City, isn't this where you live?" Robin asked.

_Crap, he doesn't know that I really live in Gotham…anyway, I better feel my way to the bus station and figure it out on my own. Double Crap! I can't do that in my current condition and my mom will be so upset. How am I supposed to help my mom in her wheelchair?_

Robin watched in pain as she just looked lost. "Artemis, you can sleep at the cave with M'Gann for the time being," he said.

"My mom will worry! Maybe you don't have any parents that you have to worry about, but I have a mom in a wheelchair who needs me. I can't just leave her," Artemis yelled.

Her words hit his weak spot, his spot that makes him lose his temper.

Robin cursed and yelled back, "You're just a burden to her now you know that? Now that you're blind, you can't take care of her anyway and if my parents were alive, they wouldn't be as disabled as your mom!"

Artemis flared up and walked into the street angrily not knowing a car was passing by. Robin, shocked, immediately plunged and pushed her out of the way. They landed on top of each other on the other side of the street.

Normally, Artemis would kick him off, but this time, she held onto him as she cried.

"It's not fair…my eyes are the most precious to me..I need them to help my mom and be on the team..now..I'm really useless," she whispered.

Robin patted her back awkwardly for he didn't know what to do in a sad time like this. He had a flashback of when he saw his parents died. He said the exact same words, it's. not. fair.

Artemis wiped away her tears with her arm and defeated, said," I'll stay at the cave for the time being. But you have to promise me that my mom will be okay and that she knows NOTHING about this and when I say NOTHING, I mean NOTHING."

Reluctantly, Robin made that promise, but he didn't know how long he can keep that promise


	3. Family and Friends

Superboy had been confused all day for M'Gann wouldn't listen to him or talk to him. She seemed rather gloomy.

"M'Gann what's wrong?….Did I do something that upset you?" he asked. M'Gann simply sighed.

"It's time to go to school," she said with no enthusiasm. Artemis sat in her M'Gann's room worrying about school.

"If my mom finds out that I can't go to Gotham Academy, she'll be pissed," Artemis said to herself.

Her troubled mind was interrupted with a knock on the door. Though she couldn't see him, she could hear him and answered, "Robin, get your ass out of here."

Robin chuckled and said jokingly, "Your hearing is still sharp as usual. How'd you know?" _That chuckle seems so familiar…I heard that somewhere else before…..oh my god…it sounds exactly like Dick! Am I at Gotham Academy right now? DId I mistake the voice for Robin?_

"Dick, are we at Gotham Academy?" asked Artemis. Robin's eyes widened wondering how she knew. Then again, she had lost her senses of where she is or who she is with.

"No, Artemis we're still at the cave and it's Robin," Robin replied calmly. "No, your voice is exactly like Dick's and we're at school…I have to be in school…." Artemis cried desperately.

Robin took her by the shoulders and shook her. "Wake up Artemis! I know this is traumatizing but right now you need to wake up and tell me everything. We have to go through this together!"

"First of all who did this to you?"

"…Sportsmaster…''

_He made his own daughter blind and his own wife a paralytic? Why? _"So…what did he do?"

"This isn't going to go anywhere Robin…why do you need to know so much about me? ," Artemis growled.

Robin gave up. "Fine, don't tell me anything cause I can figure it out."

"I already figured you out, Robin or should I say Dick?" Artemis smirked. "Even though I can't see you, I can hear and feel you. I can feel your tension and right now I bet you're nervous. Batman told you to keep a secret identity right? So much for that bullshit."

"Oh yea? I was about to let things go but you know what? I know that you have a criminal DNA. Your dad is Sportsmaster and you're from Gotham not Star. I could've blown your cover but I didn't," Robin yelled back.

Artemis let out a depressing sigh. "Why did your father hurt your eyes?" asked Dick.

"He's not much of a father, if he is, he is an abusive father. Why would he do such a thing? Sometimes families aren't all about hugs and kisses. Sometimes families are about competition and separation…and in my family, that's how you survive," Artemis said.

Dick replied, "You're lucky, Artemis." Artemis' eyebrows went up. "At least you have a family to fight with. This psychotic loanshark took my parents away from me right before my eyes. Then Bruce took me in as his adoptive son. If my parents were here, I would still be complaining about eating string beans or get in an argument about cleaning my room. Yea, families aren't about hugs and kisses, but it is good to at least have one."

Artemis gave him the most consoling look as she hugged him closely. Kid Flash was watching from the door with his fists clenched. Originally, Kid Flash wanted to prank Artemis for fun but stopped when he was Robin. He listened to the conversation intensely and shocked. Suddenly, Artemis whispered urgently, "Someone's at the door, I can hear him. You should check it out," Robin went out to see that it was Wally.

"Wally…..what did you hear? Not everything right?" Robin demanded. Kid Flash just stared at the wall with his face as red as his hair. Robin grabbed Kid Flash by the collar and interrogated him.

"I heard about..Artemis….being blind….is it….permanent?" Kid Flash asked. He was worried for he truly loved her though he would taunt her all day. Robin replied, "Why don't you two talk?"


	4. Confession

"Wally….is that you?" asked Artemis. Wally made sure Artemis couldn't see his tears or hear his sniffles. He watched with pain as she looked so scared.

He concealed his depression by making a fake smile, even though she couldn't see it. "Hey beautiful! How are you?" said Wally.

Artemis laughed, "Yup, it's Wally alright." They both made a slight laugh however soon enough the atmosphere went south.

Minutes after absolute silence, Wally decided to confront her. "You….can't..see me…right?" Wally asked gravely. Artemis trembled while clenching her fists. Wally was the last person who she would ever want to know about her condition: she didn't want to be a burden.

"So what? Now that I'm useless you can get your Red Arrow back…I can leave like you wanted me to," Artemis yelled. Wally cried quietly and closed his eyes, unable to look at her. He held her hands and confessed, "You are not Red Arrow's replacement..you are…more..than that to me…" Though Artemis could not see his face, she could feel his sincerity through his gentle touch. She let out a tear and internally confessed that she loved him too, but he's fast and she would only drag him down.

She took his hand and took it off hers and went down the floor. She pointed at herself and said "Look, baywatch. Sorry to disappoint you, but if you haven't noticed, I'm blind. I'm obsolete…permanently. Find someone who will make your days happy, not..burdensome." He shaked his head no. Wally knelt and lift her chin up. He replied, "If you're fast like me, time is something I got on my hands and…Artemis..you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. That won't change."

Robin listened by the doorway and grinned. _Idiot. He should have told her sooner…jerk…_ He then walked away from the door and to the Bat Cave to reserve the rest of their privacy.

Artemis reluctantly cracked a smile for Wally's cheesy lines melted her heart. Suddenly, she felt hot breath on her face coming closer and closer..She felt her heart beating faster than ever. _Is he going to kiss me? _Wally slowly approached her, inch by inch, and eventually his mouth collided with hers. Her rough hands traced his cheek as his hands were holding the back of her neck. That kiss seemed to last forever and finally ended with two breathless lovers. Crimson started to creep up their cheeks as they blushed.

"I should have done that…before..this happened.." Wally said. Artemis tried to grin, "You got that right Baywatch!" Once again, there was negative energy around them.

"How will I shoot my arrows or fight in combat?" asked ARtemis desperately. "We'll find a way. If you fight to win this, then you will become a true hero to all. You can become the hope for blind or whatever people there are in this world who feel lost. I'll help," promised Wally.

Artemis, determined, held her hands together and announced, "I'm going to practice…


	5. Practice

Wally lifted Artemis up, bridle style and ran to Star City's archer arena. Since it was closed, nobody was around and as stealthy as Wally was, he was able to break in and to turn on all of the arena lights. He gently placed Artemis on the ground and handed her, her bow and arrows.

For years, Artemis' father had taught her how to kill and how to shoot. One of his lessons were dangerous and full of peril and fear. Sportsmaster, her father, forced Artemis to wear a blindfold and placed her in the center of nowhere with just her bow and arrow. She remembered being trained to hear her enemy approaching and to feel the rhythm of their movements through her feet. Fake robots would shoot at the blind-folded little girl and she was supposed, no expected to be able to fight them all without her vision.

She always failed that lesson and often received lashes of her father's anger, however, that was when she was highly unmotivated. This time, she NEEDED to learn and this time she was determined to take her father's words into action.

"Arty, the target is this…." began Wally but was cut short by an arrow heading straight to the bulls-eye. It missed the target but it was already amazing that she knew which way the target was without Wally even guiding her. He was flabbergasted at her agility and wondered whether it was truly Green Arrow's training or not.

She then tried again. Her ears were open, her feet were in position, and her arms lowered the bow realizing learning from her mistake before. Then, she let go. The arrow flew through the air and went through the white mark. Wally exclaimed, "Wow Arty! You are a natural! Now you just have to lower it more."

Wally was talking to the air while Artemis was already preparing for her next shot. Her ears tingled at the softness of the east wind. She shifted her bow to face slightly west and to make a 90 degree angle. She held her breath and exhaled the moment she let go.

Time seemed to go slowly as the air was sliced by her arrow. Wally's eyes widened to cover his face. "Woah….that…shot…was waaaay…." started Wally…"way off?," asked Artemis. Wally defended, "No! IT was AMAZING! It hit the bulls-eye target right on the mark!"

"Really, Baywatch?" asked Artemis. Wally smiled and gave her a big hug. Artemis then shrugged him off a little too roughly. "I got to practice Wallman," Artemis said quietly. She picked up her bow again and started shooting intensely every shot. Wally sat by the side waiting for Artemis to finish to the point where he was snoring. Artemis giggled as she wiped her sweat off.

_Wally must be really tired. i better wrap up and contact M-Gann to get Wally to the Cave. Wait…..someone's here…its deep and light at the same time..Dad's footsteps…Sportsmaster.. _

She then turned her arrow facing towards Sportsmaster or at least who she thought was Sportsmaster. "Don't be alarmed. I'm here to help," said Sportsmaster. "Help? Help? Where were you when you abandoned us, huh? Were you ever there to help? Oh yea, helping is taking away my sight, you son of a bitch," screamed Artemis. Sportsmaster put a finger to his mouth while putting the other one at sleeping Wally.

"You don't want to wake him up, do you?" threatened Sportsmaster. Artemis felt the tension and immediately went silent. Sportsmaster gave her a nod and Artemis looked at Wally. She saw his militaristic jacket and his worn out sneakers.

"Had fun pretending to be blind Artemis?" asked Sportsmaster. She sighed and felt guilty for lying to all of them. He approached and held her face lightly. "You were scared…that you might be a replacement..you wanted to test who would be there for you if you were obsolete. Once your so called friends find out about this lie…is your cover safe?" demanded Sportsmaster. She turned her head away from his touch. He grinned. "I don't think so.


	6. Mystery

"Kid Flash was already disappointed in you Artemis for the last time. They blamed you for what happened. They probably will blame you again once they fall in MY hands. Why not join me as..a family reunion," Sportsmaster said. Artemis looked at her sinister father then looked back at innocent Wally. He was still sleeping like a child. Sportsmaster smirked. He backed away slowly as he said, "Choose a side. You belong with us now."

Wally woke up not aware what had happened. He looked around to see the cave. _Artemis? I'm pretty sure I was with Arty at the Star City Arching Arena..how am I here? If I'm here, where is Artemis? She can't find her way around._

_Robin_ came by to check on Wally. He tracked Wally's cellphone in the Arena and picked him up. Once he arrived there, he saw Artemis' bow, but found no Artemis. To his surprise, there were letters integrated on the field that threatened the Justice League. It said: Evil Prevails. Though he was curious of what happened, he didn't ask Wally anything….yet.

"Dude…I feel so tired and sore. Where's Artemis?" asked Wally. M'Gann came into the room with Superboy and Aqualad. "I can't find her location Robin," M'Gann reported not knowing Wally was there. Wally immediately stood up and interrogated M'Gann. Superboy went in the way and held him back. "You knew, and you know something I don't. Tell me now!" yelled Wally. Aqualad had enough of the fight and yelled in an echoing voice to stop.

"Kid Flash, when we found you at the arena, all there was, was words integrated into the field with Artemis' bow on the ground. She was not there..now I need you to tell me what happened," Aqualad said. Robin looked at M'Gann and M'Gann looked at Wally.

He refused to talk until Aqualad gave him his serious face. Aqualad demanded, "Spill the facts…NOW."

Before explaining, Wally and Robin including M'Gann sighed. "Truth is…Artemis..lost her eyesight during an encounter with Sportsmaster. She wanted to practice her archery..to avoid suspicion. I should have been awake to watch her, but I was so tired that I decided to take a nap, but I had no idea any of this happened while I was just sleeping," Wally broke out. Aqualad and Superboy were shocked while the rest just put their heads down in sadness.

Superboy faced M'Gann. "M'Gann is that why Artemis was staying with you and you felt upset?" asked Superboy. M'Gann replied yes internally. Then, Aqualad looked at Robin and realized he knew too. He calmed himself before talking to Robin.

"Why did you not report this to me? Artemis could have been killed in a fight with her enemy taking her blindness to their advantage. Do you not consider me a leader? I must take care of each of you," said Aqualad.

Robin replied, "She was desperately trying to hide that fact." Wally added, "If you knew, you would have excluded her from any mission and then Red Arrow would take her position..that's why she decided to fight it." Aqualad stared at them with guilty eyes.

"All you say is true. I would have excluded her..but only for her safety. I should have noticed but instead she suffered for my mistake," Aqualad admitted.

"Miss Martian, can you track Artemis mentally? She might have an open mind. Track her" ordered Aqualad, " and Superboy, follow Miss Martian to the coordinates." Wally asked, "What about Robin and me and you?" Aqualad looked at Robin and said, "You search for Sportsmaster…I have a feeling they are somewhat correlated to each other..she might not have been abducted." Wally pinpointed Aqualad to wall and grew furious.

"Do you still suspect Artemis for what happened last time?" demanded Wally, "She fucking decided to fight even though there was no hope for her to see!" Robin glared at Aqualad also but knew why he would think that, but for now, he kept quiet.

Wally ran back to the arena in a millisecond. He searched the entire perimeter for Artemis or any clue. When he arrived, he saw a blanket on the bleachers he was sleeping on. Wally originally brought it to keep Artemis warm and himself warm. He called Robin and asked, "When you found me, what did I look like? No..no i mean was there anything on me or something?" Robin replied, "The only thing that was on you was a blanket…why?" _I never put a blanket on when I slept…Artemis had it by her side….then…who.?….Artemis?_

_If I didn't have a blanket on me, but it was on me..then it had to be Artemis who did it..but how could she if she is blind? _Even weirder, there was blood on it…._what happened, Artemis? Where are you_


	7. Closed and Now Can See

Meanwhile, M'Gann was trying to gain psychic contact with Artemis. "Artemis where are you?" asked M'Gann. Though very faint, Artemis returned the message she replied, "At Pier 27 by the docks…there is a secret passageway." Superboy couldn't hear the conversation since it was an internal one. Once M'Gann finished talking she was shocked…._How did she know where she was when she can't even see? Is this a trap?_

"What did she say?" asked Superboy, "wait…she's blind right?" M'Gann started stuttering saying, "Pi…er…27…by..the do-o-ocks." Superboy stared in wonder but followed her orders. They went to the docks and hid behind boxes. Superboy called Aqualad, Robin, and Wally. While Aqualad and Robin came with their cycles, Kid Flash ran straight to the location on foot. They reunited and hid near the base.

Aqualad signaled Miss Martian and Robin to go in while the rest of them would fight off the guards in front of the door. Wally protested persistently but Aqualad made his answer clear. Aqualad did Manuever 7 with Superboy and ambushed the soldiers from above. Wally ran from behind and slammed into the guards. Once they finished the guards at the entrance, they headed straight inside.

As the others just entered in, Miss Martian was in camouflage mode and Robin was right behind her. They scurried along the hallways of the secret database. As they passed along the doors, they witnessed torture rooms that were empty….except one….They hid behind the door and saw Artemis…Her hands were tied up and the rope was attached to the ceiling. Her face was almost unrecognized from the blood. Right when Robin was about to go in, Miss Martian held him back.

Telepathically they were talking. _ Robin, it's probably a trap..stay put. Miss Martian, Artemis can die any minute..look at her..! _

_Miss Martian replied, "Robin…I think I need to tell you something…Art.. _ Their telepathic conversation was interrupted by a loud scream and a laugh. Sportsmaster was in the room now and was interrogating Artemis.

"What stings the most, huh? That your team can't trust you? That you are just a replacement for Roy Harper?…Or do you regret not being able to see that fast boyfriend of yours?" mocked Sportsmaster. Artemis chuckled that even Sportsmaster was surprised.

"Not bad…dad. Since when did your torture methods get weaker? You used to do far worse than this! Ha! I won't say a thing you son of a bi…." Artemis stated before she was punched in the face. Miss Martian just stared in surprise as Robin charged in. He threw a birdarang at Sportsmaster's face and unfortunately he dodged it. Once Miss Martian woke up from her surprise, she released Artemis and lifted her in the sky towards her. But then, she was ambushed by Chesire and dropped Artemis to the ground. Artemis tried to get up, but couldn't…

Miss Martian mentally took Chesire's swords and reversed the direction of its blade toward Chesire and pinned her down. Robin took a smoke bomb and fogged the room. Sportsmaster coughed and eventually blacked out. Just then, Wally and the rest came in to view the scene.

Wally held Artemis and started shaking her. "Why did you lie to me? Were you that scared? Didn't you learn from last time?" demanded Wally. Though she felt hurt for his words, that wasn't important to her. His life was more important for Sportsmaster started to wake up. It was as if time had stopped. Before Wally could react, Artemis pushed him away with all of her might as Sportsmaster took out a sonic-bullet gun. Everyone heard a loud bang! It was like the shot that was heard around the world.

Wally opened his eyes and looked at his body, there was no blood. He then turned his head to the right and saw Artemis gurgling and struggling to breathe. She was shaking everywhere and was pressing onto her gun wound. It hit right at her rib. He went up and ran to her side. He held her hand. Sportsmaster managed to get away and pressed on a self-destruction button before he did.

Aqualad panicked and told the others to leave the building for there was only 5 minutes left. "Kid Flash, hurry up. You must leave her," Aqualad yelled. Wally shook his head no. "Baywatch,,,I'm so sorry I lied…but I have…to..have to…tell..you….." and Artemis couldn't finish that sentence but ended it with her last breath. Wally screamed and yelled, there was 4 minutes left. Hesitantly, Aqualad had no choice but to knock him out. He put him on his shoulder and ran out..Before he did, he took one last look at Artemis..he bowed and then ran for his life.

6 Hours Later:

"Artemis!," panted Wally. He then sighed of relief when he saw the others. "I had this dream that Artemis died while protecting me like some melodrama and…." He stopped. It wasn't a dream..it was real. Artemis is forever gone and she will not return ever again.

Miss Martian was holding his hand, Superboy was holding her hand, and Robin was discussing something with Aqualad. Robin then walked toward Wally, "You're alive kid! Thank god!" "Is there even a god?" demanded Wally, "if Artemis is dead, there is no god." Robin's fake smile turned upside down…

"Here..maybe you should read this to us..I didn't read it yet but..I think you should," said Robin. Robin handed him Artemis' diary from Artemis. It said:

Today is February 21, my birthday.. It is not a day worth celebrating…because that day, I was born to a family of monsters. Sportsmaster as my father and Tigress as my mother including my older sister Jade..it was not a day full of happiness. I am sorry I lied to you all…Having criminal DNA did not make me the best candidate to be a Young Justice member…I thought none of you would accept me and so..yea I tried to throw a pity party alright? At least it was a party of some sort, not like those birthday parties a teen would have. When we were back in the forest, Sportsmaster offered to accept me..as his daughter again..I hated him..but someone made me realized how lucky I was to even have a family. I never lied that I was blind…I am blind…of not being able to see the people who cared about me..especially Wally…

Superboy held Miss Martian in his arms. Robin tried to do his laugh at her family comment, but it ultimately turned into a muffled cry. Aqualad let down a tear down his cheek. Wally…he didn't cry..he couldn't cry..it was too much to handle.

"I didn't even know it was her birthday..that day..and her own father murdered her..she died because of me…" stuttered Wally. He closed the book and held it to his chest. "You were blind when you're eyes weren't closed..but now, you're eyes are closed forever and you saw us…." cried Wally.

He then…saw the last part of the note…_When I die, I want to donate my eyes…to a blind archer who can use these eyes to save the world…..Artemis.._


End file.
